A South Carolina bill that targets
transgender people appears to be dead for this legislative session.
According to The State, House
Bill 1203 “will miss Sunday's crossover deadline for bills to pass
from one legislative chamber to the other.”
The bill sought to prohibit transgender
people from using the bathroom that corresponds with their gender
identity.
Republican Senator Lee Bright
introduced the legislation after a similar bill was signed into law
in North Carolina.
Bright had previously defended his bill
as “common sense,” saying that it was necessary to protect women
and children.
“There's a segment of the population
that believes that you ought to be able to use whatever restroom you
identify yourself as being,” Bright
said. “So they think it's okay for a man to use a woman's
bathroom if he thinks he's a woman. From a safety issue, we don't
need men going into women's bathrooms.”
Bright
told The
State this week that he'll pursue a different approach when
the state budget come up for debate next week. Bright said that he
would propose banning state aid to local governments that enact
legislation allowing transgender people to use the bathroom of their
choice.
“We'd rather have the full bill, but
we'll take what we can get,” he said.